Winter Week 4 Veggie List & Menu

Pumpkin Ripe for Cooking

It’s raining. That’s big news in Santa Cruz, where it’s been drought-dry this winter. Since it only rains in winter here in central California, we’re happy to see our water table replenished. Local farmers are happy too. At Live Earth Farm, our CSA, Farmer Tom has been irrigating not only vegetable plots, but cover crops, which is unprecedented in the farm’s life.

After the farm’s holiday break, well into winter,  carrots, cabbage, kale, and cauliflower crops reflect the season. The first of the lovely Meyer lemons have arrived, along with baby Brussels sprouts. We’re supplementing with a large Live Earth Farm pumpkin from the harvest festival several months ago, plus some local spinach, which is also in season.

Friend and fellow musician Joe will be our guest chef this Saturday. He’ll be helping me wrestle the large pumpkin and making his African inspired dish with spinach, peanuts and fresh turmeric root. We’re having two more friends join us (Hi Kelly!)  I’ll make stewed chicken and some sort of grain, both familiar foods in Africa. For dessert, I’m making an Accra banana cake from the U. of Penn.’s African Studies Center recipe collection, but substituting chocolate bits for the peanuts, since peanuts are featured in the pumpkin dish. Culturally this is a semi-legitimate substitution. Ghana, the source of this recipe, is the second largest producer of cocoa beans in the world, though virtually all of this is for export.

I still have persimmons, so I’ll be doing something else with those. And note the spicy tomato juice is perfect for a replay of a recent post, Spicy Tomato Poached Fish with Veggies, one of my fave winter warm-up meals. Stay warm, ya-all!

This week’s veggies:

Apples  (Fujis and Pippins)

Brussels sprouts

Green cabbage
 (2 heads)


Carrots


Romanesco cauliflower


Red Russian kale


Meyer lemons

Lettuce (Bibb and baby romaine)


Parsnips

Spicy dry-farmed tomato juice

Leftovers: carrots, butternut squash, red onions, cranberries, daikon

Thursday

leftover turkey drums

Romanesco cauliflower with tomato and mustard seed

Friday

steamed Brussels sprouts

leftover turkey drums

bake mini persimmon raisin breads for dinner party favors

Saturday

Lunch:

salad with LEF lettuce, carrots

leftover cauliflower

leftover turkey drums

Dinner: Party for 5

Roasted chickpeas and drinks

African style stewed chicken

African style pumpkin with spinach & peanuts

Foufou (cooked millet) or other grain

Accra banana peanut cake with chocolate substituted for peanuts

Sunday

Lunch:

leftovers from dinner party

Dinner:

bake more chicken or turkey for lunches

leftovers from party

braised parsnips

baked apples

Monday

Spicy Tomato Poached Fish with Veggies

Mom’s coleslaw

leftover veggies

Tuesday

Hot kale salad

turkey burgers or veggie burgers

leftover coleslaw

Wednesday

veggie or turkey burgers

leftover veggies